Despite the lack of cooperation from mother nature, crews seemed to have made considerable progress on the Parry Sound 33 forest fire as of last night. The size of the fire remains at 11,362 hectares
That's according to the fire situation update issued by the province's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services division.
Aggressive fire suppression operations are ongoing throughout the entire fire area, including the areas of deep-seeded ground fire along the northeast flank.
With the adjustment to the Implementation Order, residents are able to return to their cottages and residences. A daytime travel restriction remains for Pickerel River and Key River.
The evacuation alert issued by the Municipality of French River has been rescinded. Although evacuation order issued by the Municipality of Killarney for residents in the areas of Travers, Allen, Struthers, Kilpatrick, Bigwood (including Hartley Bay Road), a portion of Mowat, the Unsurveyed Area, 14 Mile Island and French River Provincial Park still remains in effect.
There are 247 firefighters and support staff currently working on this incident.
On the morning of August 11, there are 44 active forest fires across the northeast. Of these, 6 are not yet under control, 38 are either being held, under control or being observed.
There were two new fires confirmed yesterday.
- North Bay 121 is not yet under control at 0.2 of a hectare
- Parry Sound 42 is being held at 0.3 of a hectare
Lady Evelyn Fire Cluster
North Bay Fire 072 has not grown in size and remains at 27, 285.7 ha and is listed as Being Held. Most of the values protection that was put in place has now been removed. There have been some changes made to the travel restrictions around North Bay 72. A detailed map is available at Ontario.ca/forestfire
Resources From Out of Province
- Ontario is receiving support from across Canada, the United States and Mexico to assist with the fire situation. A total of 469 firefighters and support staff are currently in the province.
- Alberta is providing personnel, equipment and aircraft.
- British Columbia is providing equipment.
- Newfoundland is providing personnel and equipment.
- Northwest Territories is providing personnel and equipment.
- Nova Scotia is providing equipment.
- New Brunswick is providing personnel.
- Prince Edward Island is providing personnel.
- Saskatchewan is providing personnel and equipment.
- Quebec is providing personnel and aircraft.
- Wisconsin, USA, is providing personnel.
- Mexico is providing personnel.
- Parks Canada is providing personnel.
Smoke concerns
Smoke may be noted in the community of Fort Severn in the Far North, due to active fires to the south and west of the community.
Smoke from large fires across the region will be visible until fire activity is reduced and weather patterns change.
AFFES is reminding the public that if they do see flames or smoke, please report it, and stay away from the area in the interest of public safety.
If you have questions or concerns about smoke and your health, please contact Tele Health Ontario at 1-866-797-0000.
Restricted fire zones
Due to recent precipitation and good progress being made in containing existing forest fires, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has removed the Restricted Fire Zone for some areas of the Northeast Region effective 12:00pm(noon) August 10. The zones still affected include areas north of Rosseau, northwest to Espanola and Cartier, over to the Quebec border including Temagami and Mattawa north of the Mattawa River. This includes Parry Sound, Burk’s Falls, Powassan, North Bay and Greater Sudbury. For a visual representation of the affected areas please visit our interactive map Ontario.ca/forestfire.
If you live in an area outside the adjusted Restricted Fire Zone, be sure before you burn to check with your local municipality to ensure there’s no fire ban issued in your area. We’d also like to remind the public to take extra care when having a campfire and to follow the safety tips listed at Ontario.ca/forestfire.
